The Open Ended “war on Terror”
The open ended “War on Terror” was launched in 2001 under the guise of protecting the American homeland. Since then none of the problems of terrorism has been solved, and it is believed to be a façade for the unreserved and vicious strategy by the U.S. to spread its Imperialism. The term imperialism is defined as a policy of extending ones rule over foreign countries (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu).
The notion that war was a good thing for an economy was sprung out of the huge spending during World War II that helped to bring the U.S. and the world out of the Great Depression. The Washington Post reports that the Iraq war has seriously weakened the U.S. economy with a price tag of $3 trillion. It is untenable to fight a failed war abroad and not feel the economic impact at home. The Iraq is not only the second longest war in U.S. history (after Vietnam), it is also the second most costly — surpassed only by World War II. President Bush attempted to sell the idea to the American people that the cost of the war would have no economic consequence, and even supported that notion by cutting taxes, particularly for the rich, while the country was already experiencing a substantial deficit. Therefore the war had to be funded by borrowing, which resulted in about $1 trillion dollars being added to the national debt (Bilmes, 2008). Money which could be used to fund social programs that would better the lives of the average citizen and lay the foundation for future growth is now being diverted to fight unwinnable wars.
The war has also caused gas prices to increase exponentially. Before the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 oil prices was $25 per barrel, after the invasion, oil prices soared to $100 per barrel. While the U.S. was busy spending above it means, countries like the oil-rich countries, China and Singapore where saving, and as a result have become the lenders of last resort for the troubled Merrill Lynches and Citigroups. The U.S. is